NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's tennis team participated in the 2026 ITA Northwest Regional Championships, and many familiar faces took the court while one new Bruin made their collegiate debut.

How It Happened
Players from all eight NWC teams competed in the Northwest Regional, competing in three brackets — a doubles bracket and "A" and "B" brackets for singles, including consolation rounds.

Shanah Denham blazed through her opponents to make it to the quarterfinals of the "A" bracket. In the first round, Denham was pushed to her limit against Linfield's Samantha Baltz, winning set one 6-4 before taking the tiebreaking set 7-0 in a 7-6 set two victory. She breezed past L&C's Anna English (6-2, 6-0) before being taken down in the quarterfinal round (6-0, 6-1) by a different River Otter opponent, Sonya Drayton.

Denham and Juhree Kizziar also partnered to take the Bruins to a familiar semifinal appearance that Fox appeared in last year, this time facing off against a different Whitman Blues doubles duo of Renata Rosell Puga and Emmerson Bonner. Denham and Kizziar dropped their contest (8-3) after an (8-4) first-round win and narrow (8-6) second-round bout.

Kizziar took her "A" bracket matchup to a third set in a thrilling battle, where she bounced back from a 7-6 [8-6] loss in set one by taking set two 6-3. In set three, the score sat at 6-6, looking to be anyone's game until Linfield's Kaitlynn Canubida won the tiebreak 7-4, sending her to the consolation bracket. Kizziar carried her swing into the consolation bracket, where she boasted a 4-0 sweep in two sets in her first round before taking the next two matches to make it to the semifinals. She eventually lost 6-2 in both sets to conclude her competition appearances for the weekend.

Audrey Gardner was the third Bruin to compete in the "A" bracket. Gardner narrowly lost her first set 7-5 and fell at the hands of Puget Sound's Frances English, 6-2, in set two. She went on to conclude her singles matches in the first round of the "A" consolation bracket, losing to Whitworth's Andrea DelCastillo (5-4) [7-4], (4-2).

Rounding out the "A" bracket competitors for Fox was freshman Avery Phillips. The California native narrowly lost (6-3), (7-5), (7-6) [8-6], putting up a compelling fight against Puget Sound's Madeleine Hendricks. She then battled in a matchup against Whitworth's Audrey Judson, almost going the distance before losing the match (4-0), (5-4) [7-4].

Phillips and Gardner combined forces in doubles, where they faced Stella Nishimura and Chloe Takahashi from Pacific in a tough 8-1 loss.

Three other Bruins competed in the "B" bracket, with two players tag-teaming in doubles.

Nicole Schnurbusch was seeded eighth, which automatically moved her into the round of 32, where she took on Sadie Lieser of Whitman. Schnurbusch pushed set one to 5-5 before Lieser edged out a 7-5 victory. Set two ended in a 6-1 loss for Schnurbusch, moving her to the consolation bracket, where she rebounded and made a push to the semifinals before she dragged out the first set to 5-5 before falling 7-5 and ultimately losing set two 6-3.

Oregon native Rachel Suelzle made her collegiate debut for Fox, collecting an impressive (6-0), (6-0) victory against Lilliana Cano of Linfield. She went on to lose in the round of 16 to Leah Lovato of Whitman in two sets, 6-1, 6-3.

Suelzle and Schnurbusch teamed up in doubles against Lyla Khlee and Sundi King of Linfield, where they pushed their doubles opponents to the brink before dropping the match 8-6.

Abigail Gonzales also left her mark in the "B" bracket, where she combined for six game wins despite a 6-3, 6-3 loss. Gonzales went on to win her first match in the consolation bracket with a 4-0 sweep in both sets, bringing her to the quarterfinals, where she combined for four game wins in a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Puget Sound's Ella Norman.

Coach's Thoughts
"Overall I thought everyone played great (!)," Bruin head coach Rick Cruz said. "It was a learning weekend for our team and each player had the opportunity to see where their game was at and what they need to improve moving forward. With the improvement I saw during these few days I'm excited to see what we can accomplish in the spring. It was nice to see Shanah make a run in both singles and doubles to start off her senior season."

Up Next
The Bruins will look to build off of a strong presence in ITA regional competition as they prepare to make their return to regular season play in the spring